Ukraine can replace Russian, Belarusian goods worth $7B in EU market – Economy Ministry

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Economy First Deputy Minister Denys Kudin in a commentary to Ukrinform.

“The ministry believes that the replacement of Russian and Belarusian goods in the European market by Ukrainian products is a matter of the immediate prospects. We should focus on the current competitive benefits of our producers, for example in engineering, rail car manufacturing, food processing. In these sectors, we can immediately find contracts in the EU market,” Kudin told.

However, according to Kudin, Ukraine and the EU have different technical standards. As a result, domestic producers require assistance from the state in order to adapt technical standards and regulations.

“The Economy Ministry is launching the Export Boost Project. We are establishing a new team that will be working to help Ukrainian companies sign the first contracts and complete necessary certification procedures, where we can immediately replace Russian and Belarusian products. According to our estimates, that very niche we can claim is about $7 billion in the next 12-18 months,” Kudin noted.

In his words, the basis of the economic policy of the Government of Ukraine is full European integration. In particular, this refers to opening the EU market not for one year but several years, until Ukraine joins the EU, as the long-term prospects are important to the investor in order to estimate a payback.

mk